Maybe Norv Turner has found the team he can lead to that place so many of you don’t think he’s capable of going.​

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I have been waiting a long time for the Chargers to have a mature team – one that could back up its words and respond rightly to Turner’s words.​

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Admittedly, I’m Turner’s most unabashed public supporter this side of Troy Aikman. But I believe I know the man’s limitations, and I have said since the day he was hired that he’ll do best with a certain kind of group to turn his message into sustained success.​

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Maybe, just maybe, this is that team.​

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“Norv pretty much ripped our (rear ends) early in the week,” linebacker Takeo Spikes said on Sunday, after the Chargers bounced back from the previous week’s embarrassment to handle the Kansas City Chiefs. “We accepted the coaching … then the players, we kind of challenged each other.”​

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It’s only four games in, the first quarter of the season complete. If you’ve been around this town for any length of time, paying attention to the Chargers, having your hopes raised and then razed, you must remain in a state of wait-and-see.​

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But consider the progression Spikes described.​

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Turner voices his displeasure in no uncertain terms, the players absorb his message constructively and in turn go about changing their results.​

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What a concept.​

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“He just treats us like grown men,” tight end Randy McMichael said. “You should act like grown men.”​

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Sure. But, let’s face it, not every grown man acts like one – and certainly not in an NFL locker room. The Chargers have had their share of those the past few years. They’ve largely been weeded out and replaced with guys who not only are accountable to the team but demand others be as well.​

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“Nowadays, younger players come in like there’s an entitlement,” said McMichael, who is in his 11th season. “… We’re not going to stand for it. Stuff happens, but not on our watch.”​

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I assure you that Turner has been a big part of the culture change. His curfew was immediately more strict than his predecessor’s. He deals privately with those that run afoul of the rules, as well as proactively (and always privately) advising players.​

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The group known loosely as the Gaslamp Gang for their preference to spend Friday nights downtown has largely been sent packing. A.J. Smith isn’t the only reason.​

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He can be the hard guy, but he’s better mixing counselor and friend with offensive mastermind.​

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He doesn’t sacrifice players publicly, most recently evidenced by his treatment of Ryan Mathews. He told Mathews last Wednesday he wouldn’t start Sunday, but it was kept quiet. Turner also told Mathews he bore some blame for running him so much in the first quarter of his first game after being sidelined for six weeks. And after Sunday’s game, Turner praised Mathews profusely and has deliberately declined to acknowledge a lack of trust in the young running back.​

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In Monday’s team meeting, Turner did something he does frequently. He told the team he’d erred in his play calling at certain times in Kansas City. He demands precision from the players and is critical of himself and his staff when the players are not put in the best position to succeed.​

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That criticism remains in-house.​

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There, a group of veterans and like-minded young players respond.​

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“It’s a good mix with Norv’s personality,” Spikes said.​

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He recalled playing for the similarly-wired Dick LeBeau in Cincinnati early in his career. Players loved LeBeau, respected him, couldn’t quite get it together to win enough to save his job.​

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“We were not able to create success,” Spikes said, “because we didn’t have enough veteran leadership on the team. I always said if I got that opportunity again to play for a coach like that, I’d never let that happen again.”​

Oh Spikes...if only you understood the game as well as the keyboard warriors.

I never dreamed I'd still be agNorvstic after 5+ years, but I am.
I'm sure he's not the bum the mouth-breathers declare him to be, but I don't know if he can HC to a Lombardi.

But this piece reminds me of something I've meant to say for a long time:
I love the way--whenever I hear some bozo on another team make dopey or embarrassing public remarks--
we in San Diego can really take pride in how well Charger players present themselves...even if some
media figure is trying to bait a player into throwing a teammate under the bus, or such, they virtually
always are as professional as you would hope them to be.
It's inconceivable that at least a good chunk of that doesn't come down from the coach.

Oh Spikes...if only you understood the game as well as the keyboard warriors.

I never dreamed I'd still be agNorvstic after 5+ years, but I am.
I'm sure he's not the bum the mouth-breathers declare him to be, but I don't know if he can HC to a Lombardi.

But this piece reminds me of something I've meant to say for a long time:
I love the way--whenever I hear some bozo on another team make dopey or embarrassing public remarks--
we in San Diego can really take pride in how well Charger players present themselves...even if some
media figure is trying to bait a player into throwing a teammate under the bus, or such, they virtually
always are as professional as you would hope them to be.
It's inconceivable that at least a good chunk of that doesn't come down from the coach.

Click to expand...

I agree 100%. I feel the same way about Norv. He's not the bumbling idiot that people make him about to be. He's a good coach. But we won't know if he's good enough to win a championship until he wins one. Until 2007, alot of people held the same opinion of Coughlin that they do of Norv.

I love how Spikes takes responsibility for letting a coach down. Not enough players do that. And, yes, this team is one to be proud of. This is a mature, responsible group of guys, rather than the public embarrassments that feature so prevalently on other teams.

Oh Spikes...if only you understood the game as well as the keyboard warriors.

I never dreamed I'd still be agNorvstic after 5+ years, but I am.
I'm sure he's not the bum the mouth-breathers declare him to be, but I don't know if he can HC to a Lombardi.

But this piece reminds me of something I've meant to say for a long time:
I love the way--whenever I hear some bozo on another team make dopey or embarrassing public remarks--
we in San Diego can really take pride in how well Charger players present themselves...even if some
media figure is trying to bait a player into throwing a teammate under the bus, or such, they virtually
always are as professional as you would hope them to be.
It's inconceivable that at least a good chunk of that doesn't come down from the coach.

Click to expand...

After 14 years of mediocrity as a HC, and the Chargers progressively getting farther from the Super Bowl every year since he was hired...I'm going to side with the "mouth breathers" until he proves me wrong.

Lets not forget we were 3-1 last year as well.
Although I'll say this years path to 3-1 has been far more convincing, I like our defense a lot this year.

LOL if considering Norv's head coaching career an over extended failure makes me a mouth breather, then I accept the label.

It's probably not a popular thing to say as we sit at 3-1, but I still wish we'd hired Jim Harbaugh when we had the chance. Now the only thing to do is hope Norv finds a way to keep us mouth breathers from being able to say "I told you so" for a 15th year.

Couple of things that stand out as to why we look at this the way we do.
1 Spanos was booed at home adn decided it was time to put a winner on the field
2 The city/fans came down hard on AJ/Norv and wanted them fired.
3 Peyton Manning in the division gave AJ/Dean a wake up call to be proactive with this team
4 Firing Manusky after one year was unheard of under the AJ/Norv era.

I can't remember when AJ was this active in FA and was proactive towards this team. He has been aggressive with the FA and so far he is being a valuable GM. How much control Dean gave AJ is known but the player personal with Meachum, Royal, Battle, McClain, Johnson, Bigby has been outstanding.

What I see with the Chargers is a very powerful team. A team that is just as talented if not more so than NY, ATL, GB, but when I look at them play they are soft. They don't play with muscle. They play with an urgency to take a break. It is the lack of leadership/fire/drive than Norv doesn't possess. I see a top notch race car with an unqualified HC.

Couple of things that stand out as to why we look at this the way we do.
1 Spanos was booed at home adn decided it was time to put a winner on the field
2 The city/fans came down hard on AJ/Norv and wanted them fired.
3 Peyton Manning in the division gave AJ/Dean a wake up call to be proactive with this team
4 Firing Manusky after one year was unheard of under the AJ/Norv era.

I can't remember when AJ was this active in FA and was proactive towards this team. He has been aggressive with the FA and so far he is being a valuable GM. How much control Dean gave AJ is known but the player personal with Meachum, Royal, Battle, McClain, Johnson, Bigby has been outstanding.

What I see with the Chargers is a very powerful team. A team that is just as talented if not more so than NY, ATL, GB, but when I look at them play they are soft. They don't play with muscle. They play with an urgency to take a break. It is the lack of leadership/fire/drive than Norv doesn't possess. I see a top notch race car with an unqualified HC.

Click to expand...

Say whaaaaat? Have you been watching the Chargers long? Assistnat coached 'cough cough Cotrell!' get let go after one or less seasons with the Chargers....

Say whaaaaat? Have you been watching the Chargers long? Assistnat coached 'cough cough Cotrell!' get let go after one or less seasons with the Chargers....

Click to expand...

Cottrell was defensive coordinator in '07 and '08. Was let go at the bye (which is AJ's norm...to fire/cut someone on the bye week) in 2008. So he was on the team a year and half...not less than a year...

LOL if considering Norv's head coaching career an over extended failure makes me a mouth breather, then I accept the label.

It's probably not a popular thing to say as we sit at 3-1, but I still wish we'd hired Jim Harbaugh when we had the chance. Now the only thing to do is hope Norv finds a way to keep us mouth breathers from being able to say "I told you so" for a 15th year.

Click to expand...

Here's the deal, Matty Nice: Remember the context: My remark came immediately after my
100th declaration that I'm still agnorvstic. I'm not trying to convice anyone that Norv is a Super Bowl-bound
coach...Hell, Matty, I don't think I've even so much as said he was a "good" coach!

But the guy does have a 62% winning record here: absolutely awesome by NFL standards over 5+ years.
I'm not saying that proves he's even as good as his 62% record, merely that it's absurd to try to make a
"bum" (my term) out of a guy with that record. If you choose to self identify with what I called the
mouth breathers, because you still insist on trying to make the Chargers' winningest coach into a bum,
that's your prerogative.

(My exact phrase--that you suggest was unfair--was "he's not the bum the mouth-breathers declare him to be")

Here's the deal, Matty Nice: Remember the context: My remark came immediately after my
100th declaration that I'm still agnorvstic. I'm not trying to convice anyone that Norv is a Super Bowl-bound
coach...Hell, Matty, I don't think I've even so much as said he was a "good" coach!

But the guy does have a 62% winning record here: absolutely awesome by NFL standards over 5+ years.
I'm not saying that proves he's even as good as his 62% record, merely that it's absurd to try to make a
"bum" (my term) out of a guy with that record. If you choose to self identify with what I called the
mouth breathers, because you still insist on trying to make the Chargers' winningest coach into a bum,
that's your prerogative.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the educational and highly misleading statistic, I care as much now as I did the first 10 times I've heard it.

Make the playoffs, earn respect.
Lose the division to teams led by Tebow and Cassel, lose respect.

Thanks for the educational and highly misleading statistic, I care as much now as I did the first 10 times I've heard it.

Make the playoffs, earn respect.
Lose the division to teams led by Tebow and Cassel, lose respect.

My expectations are not skewed or misleading, it is what it is.

Click to expand...

Actually, I don't think that the Chargers (or me) are hoping for your respect.
That you have no perspective and complain after every win is more your problem than mine.

Don't even try to play the phony "high standards" card...being whiny does NOT
mean you have high standards...it means nothing more than that you're a constant whiner.

Anyone that is this unhappy in the winningest era of Charger football
might want to reconsider...maybe pick another team. History suggests that
a small market team like the Chargers will eventually return, at least for a significant time,
to their sub .500 days, which--since you soil yourself during 62% winning--you could never deal with.

I'm sorry you don't like the most recent, relevant stats. (Please tell us more about the importance of the 1994 Redskins...compared to modern Chargers)

Actually, I don't think that the Chargers (or me) are hoping for your respect.
That you have no perspective and complain after every win is more your problem than mine.

Don't even try to play the phony "high standards" card...being whiny does NOT
mean you have high standards...it means nothing more than that you're a constant whiner.

Anyone that is this unhappy in the winningest era of Charger football
might want to reconsider...maybe pick another team. History suggests that
a small market team like the Chargers will eventually return, at least for a significant time,
to their sub .500 days, which--since you soil yourself during 62% winning--you could never deal with.

I'm sorry you don't like the most recent, relevant stats. (Please tell us more about the importance of the 1994 Redskins...compared to modern Chargers)

Click to expand...

I don't care if the Chargers are looking for my respect, thats not the point, Im only explaining why so many people are ready to see him go. But maybe you're right, I'm sure having more "just be happy and stop complaining" fans like you could only help.

BTW in case I wasn't clear, Norvs oh so amazing regular season win % is skewed by one 13-3 season that ended in epic embarrassment for the franchise.

Despite winning a playoff game in 2008 I think most would consider the 8-8 season a major disappointment as well, which means 3 out of 5 seasons he's under achieved.

Ummm....matilack, how do you know Norv isn't respected by players or coaches in the NFL? Because of Rex Ryan's big mouth?

I honestly believe that if you are playing at this level you shouldn't need (or want) a scrawny old white man making 1/10th your salary screaming in your face about how you f'd up when you know you f'd up. Coaches like Ditka, Walsh, Landry may have been firey at times(well Ditka always) but above all players played for them because they didn't want to let the coach down. I think that was Spikes point and the general point of the article. That the captain should be first in to shovel coal in pursuit of the enemy, not yell at others to do it.

Ummm....matilack, how do you know Norv isn't respected by players or coaches in the NFL? Because of Rex Ryan's big mouth?

I honestly believe that if you are playing at this level you shouldn't need (or want) a scrawny old white man making 1/10th your salary screaming in your face about how you f'd up when you know you f'd up. Coaches like Ditka, Walsh, Landry may have been firey at times(well Ditka always) but above all players played for them because they didn't want to let the coach down. I think that was Spikes point and the general point of the article. That the captain should be first in to shovel coal in pursuit of the enemy, not yell at others to do it.

Click to expand...

Read what the Chief players have said about Romeo Crennel the last few weeks....

I don't care that they like him, I care if they win...which we haven't been. It means less than dog **** to me if Norv is Don Shula Tuesday thru Saturday.

It would be great to see the Bolt's win a Lombardi under Norv Turner. Folks point at the last two seasons and whine and completely disregard the fact that there are 22 new faces on this team from just last year. With all the injuries this club sustained and River's throwing to guys on loan from In N Out on Sundays and not having a losing season is a pretty good job. I'd guess a couple teams out there might be glad to have Norv right about now and the Saint's might be one of them.